Peerless Powerhouse

Gaishi Star was about a month's journey from the Main Continent of the End-of-the-World Secret Realm, even with the E9-Grade Spaceship's incredible speed.

Yin Congyang submitted his mission application, and a red warning appeared on the screen: "We have detected that this is your first cultivation mission. Based on the company's data collected over many years, the death rate for Core Layer members undertaking a first cultivation mission at the difficult level in the End-of-the-World Region is approximately 51%. Please choose carefully. You may click 'Return' to select a different mission level. Once confirmed, your choice cannot be revoked!"

Yin Congyang clicked confirm and accepted the "Peerless Powerhouse" mission.

"Mission accepted. The next Warrior Battle on Gaishi Star will be held in three months. Please make your way there as soon as possible."

Gaishi Star, Iron Flow City.

The bustling city teemed with people, who crowded its streets and alleys. Countless skyscrapers stood in neat rows, their enormous screens playing various advertisements, while all kinds of aircraft crisscrossed the sky. It was a scene of frenzied activity.

As he walked along the street and looked at the Gaishi Star People, who closely resembled Earthlings, Yin Congyang couldn't help feeling a sense of kinship.

Following the map, he made his way to the registration office for the "Warrior Battle" in Iron Flow City.

Iron Flow City had served as the venue for Gaishi Star's Universe Level "Warrior Battle" for hundreds of thousands of years. It was named after the third cultivator on Gaishi Star to break through to Immortality. According to legend, after that Immortal broke through on Gaishi Star, he joined the Virtual Universe Company and often fought on its behalf across the universe.

At the center of Iron Flow City stood its tallest building, prominently marked with the insignia of the Warrior Battle.

Several long lines stretched from the entrance. Every person waiting was at Universe Level, ranging from the first to the ninth order. Yin Congyang picked a line that was a little shorter and slowly moved forward with the crowd.

A few hours later, it was finally his turn to register. He stepped forward and was about to give them the identity he had fabricated over the past few days when a beam of silver light shot from one of the devices at the registration desk and swept over his body.

"Beep..."

The staff member handling registration glanced at the display on the device, then cried out excitedly, "Welcome, Your Highness Yin Congyang, a member of the Virtual Universe Company's End-of-the-World Region, to the Universe Level Warrior Battle on Gaishi Star! Please collect your entry credential. The Universe Level Warrior Battle will begin in ten days at the arenas around Iron Flow City. Please be there on time!"

Those who had already registered but hadn't left, along with those still waiting to register, erupted in an uproar. Some of the more impatient ones even flew into the air, eager to get a look at him.

The line behind him immediately grew several times longer. It seemed they thought that would improve their odds of being assigned to the same group as him—they all hoped to face him in the arena.

When Yin Congyang saw the device, he knew something had gone wrong. He had oversimplified things. Gaishi Star wasn't hostile to outsiders, and revealing his identity wouldn't put him in danger. Outside the arena, the people of Gaishi Star wouldn't dare touch anyone from the Virtual Universe Company, let alone a Core Layer highness.

So, for the sake of tempering their Core Layer contestants, the Virtual Universe Company wouldn't let them hide their identities.

He gave a slight shake of his head, took the entry credential from the staff member, then shot into the sky and flew straight away from the registration site.

"He's at the ninth order of Universe Level. That highness doesn't look all that different from us. If we run into him in the arena, maybe we'll have a chance..." A contestant about two meters tall whispered to his companion.

His companion nodded excitedly over and over.

"Hah... A chance? You clearly don't know how powerful the Virtual Universe Company's highnesses are. I heard one of the elders in my clan say that the company selects just over a thousand of the most talented Star Level fighters in the entire universe every ten thousand years to cultivate. They're in a completely different league from the cultivators on Gaishi Star..."

A burst of laughter came from nearby. The two contestants glared angrily in that direction, but the rules prevented them from fighting. They could only snort and turn away, ignoring the mockery.

A few days later.

More than a hundred groups of arenas had been set up around Iron Flow City, each group containing five arenas. Every arena was thirty kilometers long and thirty kilometers wide. That was quite small for fighters at Universe Level, but there were simply too many contestants. They had to build many arenas to keep the competitors from becoming too crowded.

All the arenas were made of E-grade alloy and surrounded by E-grade barriers to ensure spectators wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. Every match would be broadcast live from start to finish.

Early that morning, Yin Congyang arrived beside the arenas for Group 73, wearing his entry credential.

The back of his credential bore the number 73 in Universe Common Language. That meant he would keep fighting at the Group 73 arenas until he defeated or killed every contestant there. Then he would draw lots to face off against the champions of the other 127 groups.

About a million contestants had entered this year's Universe Level competition, split among 128 groups of arenas. Each group had more than ten thousand contestants. Even so, the tournament moved quickly: five matches took place at once, with each match lasting only a few minutes. If they held matches day and night, they could get through a great many in a single day.

In less than ten days, the first round's more than five thousand matches had concluded.

Yin Congyang's first opponent was at the fifth order of Universe Level. He launched a desperate attack as soon as the match began, hoping to cut Yin Congyang down. Yin Congyang evaded his first strike, then split him in two with a single swing of his axe.

There was no helping it. In another setting, Yin Congyang might have held back, but in an arena match—especially one with no referee and no rules—he couldn't know what his opponent might do the next second. His only option was to kill the other fighter as quickly as possible. He had always believed that a dead opponent was the best kind of opponent.

The second round's draw began as soon as the first round ended. As for the injured, those who could be treated were sent back into the arena; those who couldn't were sent in anyway. They had to hold out for at least a minute before they could concede and go home.

The more than 2,500 matches in the second round took less than five days. Yin Congyang killed his opponent and advanced once again.

The third round took three days.

The fourth round took two days.

By the eighth round, there were only a little over forty matches left. Yin Congyang killed his opponent once again and advanced.

By the thirteenth round, only one opponent remained.

"I've had people watch your matches. All twelve of your previous opponents were killed by your hand," said the ninth-order Universe Level opponent before him calmly. "I know you're a highness of distinguished status in the Virtual Universe Company. I'll do my best to defeat you—not for any reward, and not to avenge them, but to show you that we have Universe Level powerhouses here on Gaishi Star, too..."

Yin Congyang had thought he was facing a hot-blooded Gaishi Star Person, until he sensed a faint ripple of mental force in his Consciousness Sea. It was clearly a crude Illusion Technique, and he couldn't help laughing.

He didn't even wait for the other man to finish. In a flash, he appeared in front of him. As his opponent stared in astonishment, Yin Congyang swung his axe diagonally and split him in two.

"The final winner of the Group 73 arenas is the distinguished highness from the Virtual Universe Company, Yin Congyang!"

A resonant voice rang out above the arena.

Among the dozen or so opponents Yin Congyang had faced in Group 73, not one had managed to put him under pressure. The strongest had only reached the Sixth-Level Domain and comprehended a trace of the Law of Fire, yet he, too, had died beneath Yin Congyang's axe.

The matches in the other arena groups had progressed at different speeds. Some had finished before Group 73, while others still had one or two rounds left.

As expected, all the contestants who had finished early gathered at the Group 73 arenas. They had clearly come to see how a Core Member of the Virtual Universe Company fought.

Seeing Yin Congyang kill his opponent with such ease and become the final winner of this group, some contestants looked worried, while others wore disdainful expressions. It was hard to tell whether they disdained Yin Congyang or his opponent's little trick.

"All arena-group matches have now concluded, and the 128 contestants advancing to the final stage of this year's Warrior Battle have been decided. The arenas from all groups will be combined. The 128-to-64 matches will begin simultaneously in one day." A clear voice rang across all of Iron Flow City.

After the draw, Yin Congyang's opponent in the 128-to-64 round was the winner of the former Group 24 arenas: a Gaishi Star Person with an Eighth-Level Domain who had comprehended a trace of the Law of Water.

With the five arenas from each group now combined, the new arena was more than sixty kilometers long and wide. It still seemed somewhat cramped for fighters at Universe Level.

On the combined Arena 24, Yin Congyang and his opponent stood at opposite ends. The countdown projected overhead was clearly visible on the ground at the center of the arena.

When the countdown reached zero, Yin Congyang charged toward his opponent. A flying weapon appeared beneath the other man's feet, carrying him rapidly backward, while streaks of silver light shot out from behind him. It was the Mysterious God Weapon, one of the Nine Great God Weapons wielded by Spiritual Masters. The Mysterious God Weapon combined Water Space.

Drawing on his Law Comprehension, his opponent wielded the Mysterious God Weapon's third form, "Winding Stream Cup." Wave after wave of the Law of Water swept toward Yin Congyang, accompanied by streaks of silver light.

Yin Congyang's eyes lit up. He whirled the Heaven-Opening Axe in his hands and knocked the silver streaks aside. It was his first time facing an opponent who fought with one of the Nine Great God Weapons used by Spiritual Masters, and he couldn't help feeling interested. Unfortunately, his opponent's Law Comprehension was a little too weak to use the fourth form, "Dripping Water Piercing Stone." Otherwise, he might have given Yin Congyang some pressure.

After knocking aside the opponent's mental-force weapon, Yin Congyang accelerated and pursued him. Relying on his mental-force flying weapon, his opponent retreated at high speed while regrouping, drawing the hundreds of scattered streaks of silver light back together before launching another fierce attack.

Yin Congyang darted left and right. His Heaven-Opening Axe either chopped or blocked, and not one of the hundreds of silver streaks could get near him. The several profound principles of the Law of Space he had mastered were gradually merging into his axe techniques and footwork.

"Too bad. My opponent's still too weak to put me under enough pressure. I haven't even brought out a tenth of my strength. I'd better finish this quickly and see if the next opponent can surprise me!"

Yin Congyang suddenly accelerated. There was no denying that the Law of Space greatly enhanced his footwork. Compared to five or six years earlier, before he'd begun studying the profound principles of the Law of Space, his movement techniques were now several times stronger.

Under his sudden burst of speed, his opponent was forced into a frantic defense and couldn't even spare a thought for the scattered Mysterious God Weapon. He focused only on maneuvering the flying weapon beneath his feet to dodge, but Yin Congyang still drove him into a corner.

Just as Yin Congyang was about to close in, his opponent's eyes widened. He unleashed the trump card he'd been hiding: Spiritual Impact. But compared to Yin Congyang, the strength of his soul was like a firefly beside the moon. His attack didn't affect Yin Congyang any more than a breeze brushing across his face.

As his opponent stared in unwilling defeat, Yin Congyang's axe cleaved through his neck.